Student block party to kick off first-ever fall recess

October 23, 2012

Yale College will hold its first fall recess Oct. 24-28, and will be kicking off it off with a Block Party for undergraduates.

The new recess was introduced into the Yale College calendar in order to help break up the 10-12 unbroken weeks of classes before Thanksgiving break — a time that has been especially challenging for freshmen at times. Many other colleges and universities already have such a break.

“I hope those five days will give you some time to catch up on reading and assignments,” wrote Marichal Gentry, dean of student affairs at Yale College, in a letter to students, “but I also hope they will give you time to enjoy the break for what it is: a break. Keeping in mind that we're only halfway through the term, you will get the most out of the break if you can use some of it to set aside your work, catch up on sleep, and relax.”

For those who would rather spend their time differently, Gentry noted, numerous activities have been planned.

The first of these is a Block Party, to be held Wednesday, Oct. 24, from 8 p.m. to midnight on High Street, between Chapel and Elm. The event will feature music, food, a photo booth, face painters, henna artists, caricaturists, and the chance to purchase items from registered student organizations.

Other activities will include bus trips to New York City, the Westfarms Mall, and the Yale-Columbia Game; a night of bowling; a broadcast of the Metropolitan Opera’s “Othello” in Sprague Hall; and — for the more scholarly minded — workshops on listening and note-taking, writing, and language learning strategies, as well as a chance to meet with tutors at the Science and Quantitative Reasoning Center open house.

“Wherever you plan to spend the October Recess,” concluded Gentry, “I hope you're able to enjoy the time off and use it to set yourself up for a strong second half of the fall term.”